Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Divisional Round Preview, Picks and Betting Guide

Los Angeles Rams (13-5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14-4)

Date: Sunday, January 23, 2022
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium

Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Moneyline, Total and Odds

All NFL Betting Lines, Odds, and Prop Bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Moneyline: Rams +130 | Buccaneers -154
Spread: Rams +3 (-118) | Buccaneers -3 (-104)
Total: 48.5 Over (-110) Under (-110)
Odds to win Super Bowl LVI: Rams +700 | Buccaneers +550

Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Predictions and Picks

• Los Angeles Rams Moneyline (+130)
• Cam Akers Over 70.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards (-114)
• Odell Beckham Jr. Any Time Touchdown Scorer (+165)

Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers News, Analysis and Picks

It’s a blockbuster rematch in the NFC Divisional Round as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday as both teams will look to punch their ticket into the NFC Championship.

Both teams are coming off of relatively comfortable Wild Card victories. The Buccaneers handled the Philadelphia Eagles in a 31-15 win while the Rams dominated the Arizona Cardinals in a 34-11 blowout.

The key talking point in this matchup has been the injury issues that Tampa Bay has been dealt over the last month. With wide receiver Chris Godwin was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL and running back Leonard Fournette, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, and center Ryan Jensen all questionable, it leaves the Bucs a bit depleted in their biggest game of the season. Los Angeles remains quite healthy, with starting offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth and safety Taylor Rapp the only two starters on the injury report.

When these two teams previously met in Week 3, it was sheer dominance at the line of scrimmage by the Rams defense. A fully healthy Buccaneers offensive line allowed Brady to be sacked three times in the game, which has hindered Tampa Bay as they are 2-3 in games where they allow three or more sacks. They also managed just 35 rushing yards, their lowest season, which left Brady to a season-high 55 passing attempts.

If Wirfs and Jensen are both unable to go in this matchup, it leaves Tampa Bay’s line in an even worse spot with backups Josh Wells and Aaron Stinnie to fill in. Wells and Stinnie are both solid backups but nowhere near the level of the capability of the injured duo. The Rams are a live dog with a capable quarterback, a proven head coach, and loads of weapons. Take the Rams to advance in this spot.

The return of Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers was something special on Wild Card Weekend. The lead back had 18 touches in the win for 95 scrimmage yards in his first game just six months since an Achilles injury that kept him out for the entirety of the regular season. He looked like his usual shifty self, and with such a large workload, it’s easy to expect more of the same for Akers with starting running back Darrell Henderson Jr. remaining out. With 95 scrimmage yards plus 42 extra yards taken away due to penalties against Arizona, Akers is worth the play to go over 70.5 scrimmage yards on Sunday.

The emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. for the Los Angeles Rams couldn’t have come at a better time after the team lost starting wide receiver Robert Woods for the season due to a torn ACL back in November just before Week 10. Since Week 12, Beckham Jr. has found the end zone in six of eight games, including one against the Cardinals last weekend. He is one of Stafford’s favorite targets in the red zone and should get a shot at a few red-zone targets with so much attention being placed on superstar receiver Cooper Kupp. Take Beckham Jr. to score a touchdown this weekend.

All NFL game predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid